This invention relates generally to aerodynamic drogues for aerial inflight refueling, and more particularly concerns an improved aerial inflight refueling drogue assembly or paradrogue assembly having one or more actuators for moving the drogue canopy in a desired direction to control, steer and stabilize the paradrogue assembly during turbulent conditions.
The development of drogues for inflight refueling of aircraft has been primarily directed by the need to stabilize a refueling hose trailing from a tanker aircraft in a generally horizontal attitude. The drogue provides drag for the refueling coupling, which must resist the forward movement of a probe from a refueling aircraft. It has been a common practice to install either a low or high speed configuration drogue on the refueling coupling of a tanker aircraft on the ground, depending upon whether the aerial refueling is to take place at low or high speed, and to land to change the drogue to one of another speed configuration when an aircraft needs to be refueled at a different speed. Another approach has been to provide a passive variable speed drogue to maintain substantially constant loads on the drogue within a range of refueling speeds. However, during rough weather or other turbulent conditions an aerial refueling paradrogue assembly and reception coupling at the trailing or aft end of a fuel supply hose of an aerial refueling supply aircraft for refueling a receiver aircraft can otherwise move around uncontrollably, requiring a pilot of the receiver aircraft to move the receiver aircraft in such a manner so as to replicate movements of the paradrogue assembly at the trailing or aft end of the fuel supply hose, to connect the receiver aircraft with the aerial refueling reception coupling of the aerial refueling paradrogue assembly at the trailing or aft end of a fuel supply hose of the aerial refueling supply or tanker aircraft.
One aerial refueling drogue is known that controls the positioning of the drogue with aerodynamic collapsible lifting surfaces formed as fins that are operated by electromechanical, hydraulic or pneumatic actuators and that are integral with the paradrogue base, and controlled thrust is provided by thrust nozzles attached to the base assembly of the paradrogue. It would desirable to provide a system for controlling and stabilizing existing drogue canopies and couplings for inflight refueling of aircraft during turbulent conditions to enable the paradrogue coupling assembly to move in the same manner as the receiver aircraft, to reduce the work load for a pilot of the receiver aircraft, and to allow a receiving aircraft to connect to a reception coupling during rough weather conditions and other turbulent refueling conditions. It would also be desirable to provide a system for controlling and stabilizing existing drogue canopies and couplings for inflight refueling of aircraft during turbulent conditions to allow autonomous refueling of manned or unmanned receiver aircraft from a paradrogue assembly of a manned or unmanned aerial refueling supply or tanker aircraft, such as when each have control systems on board to coordinate movement of the receiver aircraft and the paradrogue assembly to allow them to connect. The present invention meets these and other needs.